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Remembering Bonni Benrubi, Curator of Images

By Kathy Ryan December 3, 2012 5:03 pmDecember 3, 2012 5:03 pm

Photo

Broadway, from a room at the Marriott Hotel. Camera obscura photograph.Credit Abelardo Morell

The magazine lost a friend and colleague last week when Bonni Benrubi, the founder and director of the Bonni Benrubi Gallery died on Thursday. Benrubi opened her gallery in 1987, at a time when photography was still claiming its place within the world of art collecting. She represented an amazing group of photographers, several of whom have had a close working relationship with the magazine over the past 25 years. Benrubi had a special love for magazine photography and was as likely to be seduced by the storytelling in an image as by its visual beauty. She was a major force in our field, someone who brought tremendous energy and passion to the community, as well as a fine curatorial eye.

Bonni had been battling cancer for two and a half years. This excerpt from the eulogy by her son Sam Powers, delivered at her memorial service on Sunday, perfectly captures Bonni, and why she’ll be missed:

A particular moment that will be forever remain in my memory took place this Wednesday, in where else but the gallery that Bonni built through years of hard work, passion and love for the arts. . . .

As some of you may know, for the past year, I have worked with marginalized youth, many of whom are here today, in Brooklyn as a counselor and media-operations coordinator while pursuing my master’s degree.
On Wednesday, a dear friend and colleague, Brad Zervas, and I went to the gallery with a group of girls that we have been working with, so that Bonni could explain to the girls how a gallery functions, as well as the intricacies of the art world in general.

During this conversation that lasted over an hour, Bonni was in a physical state that most normal people would have deemed critical.

During this intimate conversation, which I had the opportunity to participate in, I saw clearly the true words that can best sum up my mother’s life.

Bonni spoke of passion, love for family, hard work in tough situations and how she never imagined how she, a girl from the Bronx, would end up to become a key player in her industry and raise a successful family.

The girls were enamored and inspired, and Bonni continued almost as if she were a preacher talking about the importance of her family and the imperative to uncover your passion and pursue it to the best of your ability.

This conversation will forever remain in my heart, as it encapsulates her intrinsic ability to juggle family life with a thriving business, the battle with cancer while trying to maintain normalcy and, most of all, striving to give back, whether that be to her dedicated clients, charity or her family.

After her conversation in the print room, Bonni met my father, a true rock in her often frenetic life, and they embraced for one of the last times in front of the girls. . . .

Minutes later, Bonni was rushed to the E.R. and passed peacefully shortly thereafter. I will always remember her as the caring, beautiful woman that she was, and I thank you all again for coming to express your love and offer your condolences.

Here are some of the photographs by artists represented by Bonni that were commissioned and published by The New York Times Magazine and T: The New York Times Style Magazine over the past 15 years:

Bruce Grierson wrote this week’s cover story about Ellen Langer, a Harvard psychologist who has conducted experiments that involve manipulating environments to turn back subjects’ perceptions of their own age.Read more…